NEW DELHI: India’s first-ever Women’s World Cup-winning captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, revealed that the fierce criticism the team faced after their shocking collapse against England became a turning point in their campaign – uniting the players and strengthening their resolve to bounce back stronger.

India’s title run had almost come off the rails after a string of defeats to South Africa, Australia, and England. The England loss, in particular, was a bitter pill to swallow – India were comfortably placed at 234 for 3 while chasing 289, before a stunning batting collapse saw them fall short.

Harmanpreet Kaur touches guruji’s feet, calls Jhulan, Mithali to lift the Cup – a night to remember

Head coach Amol Mujumdar didn’t mince words in the aftermath, holding a hard-hitting team meeting that forced players to confront their shortcomings. Outside the dressing room, criticism was fierce and calls for Harmanpreet’s removal grew louder – but within the camp, that pressure only ignited a collective determination to script a turnaround.

“Not a single player said ‘what will happen now’ when things were not going well, especially after the heartbreaking loss against England,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match media conference after India’s title triumph on Sunday.

“That night changed a lot of things for us, we thought we will have to come out with a stronger mindset and everyone came together even more,” the skipper revealed.

When asked how she handled the wave of harsh criticism that followed, the skipper responded with calm pragmatism.

“It is a part of our life, criticism,” Harmanpreet said, adding “because it brings some balance. I don’t blame those who criticize us and I don’t have much to say. For me it is important to keep things balanced within the team.

Harmanpreet was echoing the coach’s sentiment of creating a bubble within the team and not caring about the outside frenzy.

Over the past few years, Harmanpreet and her deputy Smriti Mandhana have endured heartbreaks and didn’t want one more such experience, the skipper said.

“I have played a lot of World Cups with her (Mandhana). We would lose at home and we were not able to break it (jinx). When we got to know the venue was DY Patil, we started celebrating and we decided we will not leave it. We spoke that we are at home and our World Cup begins now,” the skipper said.

(With PTI Inputs)